Czerwinski: Lessons in losses for Paladins, Marauders

Paramus Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep both had the same football mission over the weekend: Prove that there was something to all the hype.

Both lost. Only one, however, may have failed.

There was a lot of pressure on Paramus Catholic heading into Friday night’s matchup with Don Bosco, and all the Jabrill Peppers hoopla was just a small part of it. This was the first big test for a budding power, and the Paladins learned that Bosco’s shadow is longer and deeper than they may have hoped during the course of a 31-8 loss.

Instead of making a statement, the Paladins showed that they are not quite ready for prime time. The combination of an outstanding Bosco defense and a night filled with dreadful field position was just too much for PC to overcome.

This was a learning experience, and while the lesson won’t bear its most valuable fruit until the Non-Public Group 4 playoffs next month, the Paladins really don’t have the luxury of letting it all seep in for long.

St. Joseph — a top-shelf defense with more offensive firepower than Bosco — is on deck for Saturday. There’s no distracting emotional subplot sideshow this week, so how the Paladins bounce back will say a lot about how much noise we can expect them to make in the playoffs.

With that in mind, don’t sell St. Peter’s short. There was a feeling in these parts that the Marauders were somewhat overrated; Hudson County bullies who feasted on lesser foes while the Bergen County non-publics slug it out among themselves.

St. Joseph is, by far, the best team the Marauders will face during the regular season, but St. Peter’s showed a lot during the course of the 21-10 loss.

Even the St. Joseph players said so after the game.

The Marauders are more athletic than they have been in recent years, and their defense showed it can rise to the challenge against a diverse offense.

If St. Peter’s were in The Record football Top 25, we’d be having an interesting debate about whether or not the Marauders should be ranked ahead of Paramus Catholic right now. They don’t have PC’s overall talent, but the Marauders graded out better in their first big test of the season.

Both teams want to be the dark horse in the Non-Public Group 4 playoffs. Now they both have a concrete idea of the level to which they must raise their game if they want to be the team that takes out Bosco or Bergen Catholic.